U.S. patent number 11,116,648 [Application Number 15/718,972] was granted by the patent office on 2021-09-14 for system and method for controlling a prosthetic device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY. The grantee listed for this patent is ip@uaeu.ac.ae United Arab Emirates University C/o Mohamed Al Hemairy m.hussien@uaeu.ac.ae. Invention is credited to Zulfiqar M. Aslam.
United States Patent |
11,116,648 |
Aslam |
September 14, 2021 |
System and method for controlling a prosthetic device
Abstract
The present invention discloses a system and method for motion
recognition and control of a prosthetic device. The system of the
present invention uses a movement detector for detecting
dimensional motion of a non-disabled physical appendage and
generating motion information based on this detecting. The system
further includes a microcontroller adapted to be connected to the
movement detector for receiving and processing the motion
information transmitted from the one or more movement detectors.
The system controls a prosthetic device which has actuators that
are configured to actuate motion of the prosthetic device based on
the processing of the motion information.
Inventors: |
Aslam; Zulfiqar M. (Al Ain,
AE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
United Arab Emirates University C/o Mohamed Al Hemairy
m.hussien@uaeu.ac.ae; ip@uaeu.ac.ae |
Al Ain |
N/A |
AE |
|
|
Assignee: |
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY
(Al Ain, AE)
|
Family
ID: |
65806983 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/718,972 |
Filed: |
September 28, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20190091041 A1 |
Mar 28, 2019 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
2/70 (20130101); A61F 2/68 (20130101); A61F
2002/7615 (20130101); A61F 2002/7625 (20130101); A61F
2002/704 (20130101); A61F 2002/763 (20130101); A61F
2002/5036 (20130101); A61F 2002/6881 (20130101); A61F
2002/6827 (20130101); A61F 2002/764 (20130101); A61F
2002/5092 (20130101); A61F 2002/701 (20130101); A61F
2002/7685 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
2/70 (20060101); A61F 2/68 (20060101); A61F
2/50 (20060101); A61F 2/76 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Willse; David H
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hayes Soloway PC
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A system for motion recognition and non-invasive control of a
prosthetic device, the system comprising: a movement detector on
the prosthetic device for detecting multi-dimensional motion of a
non-disabled physical appendage and generating motion information
based on said detecting; a microcontroller connected to said
movement detector for receiving and processing the motion
information transmitted from the movement detector; the prosthetic
device, connected to the microcontroller, wherein the prosthetic
device comprises one or more actuators which are configured to
actuate motion of the prosthetic device, based on said processing
of the motion information; wherein an authentication component
collects data associated with characteristics of the non-disabled
physical appendage and stores the characteristics in a memory, and
determines whether the multi-dimensional motion detected by the
movement detector matches characteristics of the non-disabled
physical appendage collected and stored in the memory, as a
condition of processing the motion information by the
microcontroller.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the movement detector comprises
one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at
least one motion sensor and at least one optical sensor.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more sensors comprise
a depth sensor, wherein the depth sensor comprises at least one of,
an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer and an e-compass.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one optical sensor
comprises one or more cameras, wherein the one or more cameras are
RGB or monochrome cameras, or a combination thereof.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the motion information
comprises converting the motion information to movement commands
readable by the one or more actuators.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing motion information
comprises mimicking a motion detected by the movement detector,
wherein the motion is performed by the non-disabled physical
appendage.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the prosthetic device is
configured to mimic the multi-dimensional motion detected from the
non-disabled physical appendage in real-time.
8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory component,
configured to store three dimensional positional data and movement
patterns obtained from the movement detector.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the microcontroller is
preprogrammed with obstacle detection and avoidance capabilities,
wherein if an obstacle is detected, movement instructed to the
actuators is terminated, and/or an alternate path stored in the
memory component is instructed by the microcontroller.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-disabled physical
appendage and the prosthetic device do not correspond to a same
body part.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the authentication component is
connected to the microcontroller and comprises a processor and a
memory for storing authentication data associated with a user of
the prosthetic device.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the authentication component is
an input/output unit.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the authentication component is
a biometric authentication means.
14. A method for motion recognition and non-invasive movement
control of a prosthetic device, the method comprising: detecting a
movement conducted by a non-disabled physical appendage using a
sensor on the prosthetic device; transmitting said detected
movement to a microcontroller; processing motion information based
on the transmitted detected movement and actuating motion of the
prosthetic device based on the processed motion information;
storing motion patterns conducted by the non-disabled appendage in
a memory component for use in actuating movement in the prosthetic
device at any time by a user of the prosthetic device; and
authenticating the user by determining whether the detected
movement matches the stored motion patterns of the non-disabled
physical appendage and actuating motion of the prosthetic device
only if it is the case.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of detecting a
movement is conducted by a movement detector, wherein the movement
detector comprises one or more motion sensors and one or more
optical sensors.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein processing the motion
information comprises converting the motion information to movement
commands readable by one or more actuators.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the processing motion
information comprises mimicking a motion detected by the movement
detector, wherein mimicking the motion detected is actuated by the
prosthetic device in real-time.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the prosthetic device is
configured to mimic an identical motion performed by the
non-disabled physical appendage.
19. The method of claim 14, further comprising detecting obstacles
and carrying out obstacle avoidance commands, wherein if an
obstacle is detected the movement of actuators is terminated,
and/or an alternate movement path is instructed by the
microcontroller.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein authenticating the user further
comprises authenticating biometric data of the non-disabled
appendage.
Description
BACKGROUND
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for
controlling a prosthetic device, more particularly the present
invention relates to a system and method for controlling a
prosthetic device based on movement patterns perceived from a
non-disabled appendage.
Description of Related Art
Prosthetic devices are currently widely used by disabled
individuals and they are generally defined as apparatuses used as
artificial substitutes for missing body parts, such as an arm, leg,
hand or foot. A large number of individuals worldwide rely on
prosthetic and/or orthotic devices to compensate for these
disabilities, which include as amputation or debilitation, and to
assist in the rehabilitation of injured limbs.
The number of disabled persons and amputees is increasing each year
as the average age of individuals increases, as does the prevalence
of debilitating diseases which affect limbs. As a result, the need
for prosthetic and orthotic devices is also steadily increasing.
Some conventional prostheses are equipped with basic controllers
that artificially mobilize the joints without any interaction from
the amputee and are capable of generating only basic motions. Such
basic controllers do not take into consideration the dynamic
conditions of the working environment or the exact desired motion
by the user. The passive nature of these conventional prosthetics
leads to movement instability, high energy expenditure on the part
of the disabled person or amputee, gait deviations and other short-
and long-term negative effects. This is especially true for arm and
leg prostheses.
In recent years, the technology for orthotic and prosthetic devices
has advanced to include basic sensor systems capable of providing
some degree of feedback control, these sensors have mainly included
proximity sensors, load sensors, accelerometers, tactile sensors,
pressure sensors, and others. However, the sensors on these devices
do not necessarily account for the user's desired movement as it
relates to other functional limbs, and only take into account the
movement of the prosthetic itself.
Other more advanced technologies have also been developed, which
use electrical signals from muscle fibers, and transmit these
signals to a controller in the prosthesis for actuating movements.
These prostheses are commonly called myoelectric prosthetics. They
operate by using electronic sensors to detect minute muscle, nerve,
and EMG activity. The information from the sensors then translates
this muscle activity (as triggered by the user) into information
that its electric motors use to control the artificial limbs
movements. Although this is a vast improvement from other types of
prosthetics, including body powered prosthetics, it is often too
expensive and unaffordable for the persons in need.
It is an objective of the present invention, to overcome the
current drawbacks of available prosthetic devices, and provide a
system and method of controlling a prosthetic device which is
reliable, is not invasive, and is less costly than current
designs.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a
system and method of controlling a prosthetic device, which is
capable of interacting with other physical appendages and other
body parts of a user, with limited effort.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and
method for the control of a prosthetic device. The system and
method are designed so that a prosthetic device worn by a user can
mimic corresponding movements made from a non-disabled
corresponding appendage, such as a user's non-disabled arm, leg,
foot, hand and so on.
It is to be understood that within this text, the use of the term
"prosthetic device" or "prosthesis", is not intended to be
limiting, and is defined to incorporate other types of devices or
accessories which can be worn or controlled by a user, such as for
example an orthotic device. An orthotic device can be defined as an
external orthopedic appliance, that controls movement of specific
body parts, e.g. knee braces, ankle foot braces, arm braces and so
on.
In a first embodiment of the present invention, a system is
disclosed for motion recognition and control of a prosthetic
device. The system of this embodiment is comprised of: a movement
detector for detecting dimensional motion of a non-disabled
physical appendage and generating motion information based on said
detecting; a microcontroller adapted to be connected to said
movement detector for receiving and processing the motion
information transmitted from the movement detector; a prosthetic
device, adapted to be connected to the microcontroller, wherein the
prosthetic device comprises one or more actuators which are
configured to actuate motion of the prosthetic device based on said
processing of the motion information.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the prosthetic
device is configured to mimic an identical motion performed by the
non-disabled physical appendage of the user.
In accordance with one embodiment, the movement detector comprises
one or more sensors, which comprise one or more motion sensors and
one or more optical sensors. Preferably, the one or more motion
sensors comprise depth sensors, such as a 9-axis sensor.
The depth sensors also preferably comprise an accelerometer, a
gyroscope, a magnetometer and an e-compass, or a combination
thereof.
In accordance with one embodiment, the processing motion
information comprises mimicking a motion detected by the movement
detector. This mimicked motion is conducted by the prosthetic
device. Preferably, the mimicked motion is conducted in real-time
by the actuators in the prosthetic device, as it is occurring in
the non-disabled appendage. In one embodiment the one or more
actuators comprise one or more motors.
In one embodiment, the one or more optical sensors include cameras,
including RGB cameras, IR cameras, or monochrome cameras, or a
combination thereof and an IR laser projector.
In one embodiment, the one or more motion sensors are located on or
within the prosthetic device, or coupled and connected with the
prosthetic device.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the prosthetic device
is an electronic prosthetic device. The prosthetic device can
comprise one or more actuators which enable the movement of the
prosthetic device.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the
prosthetic device is configured to mimic the motion detected from
the non-disabled physical appendage in real-time. Thereby, the
motions carried out by the non-disabled physical appendage can be
mimicked by the prosthetic appendage as they occur.
In one embodiment, the microcontroller of the present invention is
programmable using 4GL or 5GL code. This coding language is used to
program the various motions to be carried out by the prosthetic
device, as they are detected from the non-disabled appendage of the
user in real-time.
In a further embodiment, the system of the present invention
comprises memory component, wherein three dimensional positional
data can be stored. The data can be obtained from the movement
detector and stored for use in actuating movement in the prosthetic
device at any time by the user. Therefore, in this embodiment, the
prosthetic device does not need to actuate real-time movements as
detected in the non-disabled appendage, but rather can actuate
pre-stored movement commands, which have either been previously
detected and stored from movements of non-disabled appendage, or
have been independently programmed in the system.
In an additional embodiment of the present invention, the system
further comprises a user interface adapted for programming movement
patterns and for reading said movement patterns. The movement
patterns are stored in the memory component, then processed by the
microcontroller to send instructions to the actuators of the
prosthetic device for the particular movement patterns to be
carried out, once they are selected through the user interface.
In a further embodiment, the system comprises an authentication
component which is comprised of authentication data associated with
the user of the prosthetic device. The authentication component
connected to the microcontroller comprising an input/output unit, a
processor and a memory for storing the authentication data
associated with the user of the prosthetic device. This
authentication component can comprise biometric authentication
means, wherein the biometric authentication means comprises a
collection of data associated with characteristics of the
non-disabled physical appendage.
In one embodiment, the authentication component input/output unit
collects data associated with characteristics of the non-disabled
physical appendage and stores the characteristics in the memory,
and determines whether the dimensional motion detected by the
motion detector originates from the non-disabled physical appendage
before and as a condition of processing the motion information by
the microcontroller.
In another embodiment, the microcontroller is preprogrammed with
obstacle detection and avoidance capabilities. A movement pattern
is performed by the prosthetic device based on the motion detected
from the non-disabled physical appendage, or based on pre-stored
movement patterns in the memory component. If the system detects an
obstacle to the movement of the prosthetic device, then the
actuators are instructed to terminate the movement, and/or
alternatively take another path which may be stored in the memory.
If no obstacle is detected then the movement pattern continues as
instructed by the microcontroller to the actuators within the
prosthetic device.
The present invention also discloses a method of controlling
movements in a prosthetic device. The method of this embodiment
comprises the following steps: detecting a movement conducted by a
non-disabled physical appendage; transmitting said detected
movement to a microcontroller; processing motion information based
on the transmitted detected movement; and actuating motion of the
prosthetic device based on the processed motion information.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present method, the motion
actuated by the prosthetic device mimics an identical motion
performed by the non-disabled physical appendage.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present method, the
movement detector comprises motion sensors, which can comprise
depth sensors, which have depth sensing capabilities, to detect the
movement and positioning of the non-disabled physical appendage in
three dimensions.
In one embodiment of the presently disclosed prosthetic control
method, the prosthetic device is configured to mimic the motion
detected from the non-disabled physical appendage in real-time.
Thereby, the motions carried out by the non-disabled physical
appendage can be mimicked by the prosthetic appendage as they
occur.
In a further embodiment of the presently disclosed method, a 4GL or
a 5GL code is used to program movement commands and positional data
of the prosthetic device. This coding language is used to program
the various motions, to be carried out by the prosthetic device, as
they are detected from the non-disabled appendage of the user.
In a further embodiment, the method further comprises a step of
detecting obstacles and carrying out obstacle avoidance commands.
If an obstacle is detected the movement of the actuators is
terminated, and/or an alternate movement path is instructed for the
prosthetic device.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises an authentication
step, prior to commencing motion commands. This incorporates
authenticating data associated with the user of the prosthetic
device, which comprises collecting and storing data associated with
characteristics of the non-disabled physical appendage. This can
include biometric data.
In a further embodiment, the present method incorporates the
storing motion patterns conducted by the non-disabled appendage,
for use in actuating movement in the prosthetic device at any time
by the user. Therefore, in this embodiment, the prosthetic device
does not need to actuate real-time movements as detected in the
non-disabled appendage, but rather can actuate pre-stored movement
commands, which have either been previously detected and stored
from movements of non-disabled appendage, or have been
independently programmed in the system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The accompanying figures are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The figures illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the figures:
FIG. 1 illustrates a system in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the
accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is
shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the
invention may be practiced. Wherever possible, the same reference
numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to
the same or like parts. Directional terminology, such as "top,"
"bottom," "front," "back," "leading," "trailing," etc., is used
with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described.
Because components of embodiments of the present invention can be
positioned in a number of different orientations, the directional
terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way
limiting. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be
utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without
departing from the scope of the present invention. The following
detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting
sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the
appended claims.
Some preferred embodiments of the invention described herein relate
generally to prosthetic and orthotic systems. While the description
sets forth various embodiment-specific details, it will be
appreciated that the description is illustrative only and should
not be construed in any way as limiting the invention. Furthermore,
various applications of the invention, and modifications thereto,
which may occur to those who are skilled in the art, are also
encompassed by the general concepts described herein
The present invention pertains to a system and method for control
of a prosthetic device. The advantages of the disclosed system and
method will be made apparent through the detailed description, and
include, the control of a prosthetic device, which incorporates a
simplified system of components for sending movement, direction and
positional information from a non-disabled appendage, and
communicating this information to the prosthetic device, so that
the same movement can be mimicked from the prosthetic device.
While the current advancements in this field include various
control and sensing means for the operation of robotic/electronic
prosthetic limbs, these are limited to the prosthetic device
itself, and do not include components which can incorporate
movements of another body part, such a user's corresponding arm,
leg, hand, foot and so on. Hence it is an objective of the present
invention to provide a system and method which allows a users
healthy (non-disabled) appendage to aid in dictating the movements
of a prosthetic appendage. This is particularly useful in the
actuation of movements, where both corresponding body parts are
required to move in unison, or in a specific motion pattern in
order to completed a given motion specific task.
The advantages presented herein, include movement mimicking by a
prosthetic device in real-time scenarios, or alternatively,
pre-programmed and stored movements in a memory component of the
system, which can be initiated by the user, without the need for
mimicking movements from the non-disabled appendage. Further
advantages will be made clear by the following description of
exemplary embodiments.
Disclosed in the present invention is a system for motion
recognition and control of a prosthetic device. The system
comprises: a movement detector for detecting dimensional motion of
a non-disabled physical appendage and generating motion information
based on said detecting; a microcontroller adapted to be connected
to said movement detector for receiving and processing the motion
information transmitted from the one or more movement detectors; a
prosthetic device, adapted to be connected to the microcontroller,
wherein the prosthetic device comprises one or more actuators which
are configured to actuate motion of the prosthetic device based on
said processing of the motion information.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the prosthetic device
is configured to mimic an identical motion performed by the
non-disabled physical appendage.
For purposes of the examples and embodiments described herein, the
non-disabled physical appendage can be a hand, an arm, a leg, a
foot, a knee, fingers on a hand, joints throughout the body of a
user, or other such appendages wherein a prosthetic device can be
implemented and used. This list of appendages is merely exemplary
and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in
any way.
As can be seen in FIG. 1, and described in the above embodiment, a
non-disabled physical appendage conducts a movement or specific set
of motions in the x, y, and z directions (i.e. in three
dimensions), and the system is configured so that this movement is
detected by a movement detector 100. The data obtained from the
movement detector 100 then transmitted to a microcontroller 110.
This data is used by the microcontroller to send commands to the
prosthetic device 120, which incorporates one or more actuators.
The actuators are coupled to the prosthetic device 120 and carry
out these commands and actuate an identical movement within the
prosthetic device 120, as is being conducted by the non-disabled
appendage.
In the present invention, we describe this movement by the
prosthetic device as a mimicking movement, as this movement is
directly aligned and closely identical to the movement conducted by
the non-disabled appendage. Thusly, the motion which was conducted
by the non-disabled physical appendage is then mimicked by the
prosthetic device 120.
For example, if a user wishes to pick up a specific item with both
arms/hands, the user would initiate a movement towards that item
with their non-disabled appendage, and in real-time, the movement
data is received from the sensors and cameras and the system can
then actuate the same movement in the prosthetic device, which will
result in the user being able to grasp the item with both hands in
a similar fashion.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the movement detector
100 comprises one or more motion sensors. The motion sensors can
comprise one or more depth sensors 200, and one or more optical
sensors. Through the use of depth sensors 200, such as a 9-axis
sensor, the detector is enabled to perceive multi-dimensional data
as to the location, and movements of the non-disabled appendage.
The three-dimensional data includes positioning data, and movements
in the x, y, and z directions. This data can include information on
various types of movements that are typically carried out by
physical appendages, including but not limited to flexion,
extension, adduction, abduction, rotation, and circumduction.
The movement detector 100 is coupled and connected to the
prosthetic device 120 at a specific angle and position, so that it
is capable to capture the three-dimensional positional and movement
data derived from the non-disabled appendage. In one embodiment an
additional back-up movement detector can be incorporated and
attached to the individual and not the prosthetic device itself. In
a preferred embodiment the movement detector 100 is embedded within
or on the prosthetic device. The movement detector 100 of the
present invention can detect and capture movement from gestures
from angles up to 160 degrees. If it is desired to capture gestures
falling outside this angle range then two or more units movement
detectors can be incorporated with the prosthetic device.
In one embodiment, the movement detector 100 comprises one or more
motion sensors which are located on or within, or coupled to the
prosthetic device 120. Similarly the one or more optical sensors
are located on or within, or coupled to the prosthetic device
120.
As can be seen in FIG. 2, the one or more depth sensor 200,
comprises at least one of an accelerometer, 220, a gyroscope 240, a
magnetometer and or an e-compass 260. It further comprises one or
more optical sensors.
In a preferred embodiment, the one or more optical sensors comprise
one or more cameras, which can comprise RGB cameras, stereoscopic
IR cameras, or monochrome cameras, or a combination thereof. The
optical sensors further comprise an IR (infrared) imagining system,
which is comprised of one or more IR cameras, and an IR laser
projector. With the use of an IR laser projector, the one or more
cameras can perform 3D scanning and depth perception of a
non-disabled physical appendage as it is moving. The
data/information generated and collected from these components can
be used by a microcontroller 110 for actuating motion patterns by
the prosthetic device actuator 120. Known sensors which comprise
the above listed components and are used for depth imagining and
movement capture can be incorporated into the current proposed
system, such as for example Intel's RealSense infrared assisted 3D
imagining system, which a person of skill in the art will already
be familiar with.
The prosthetic device 120 operable in the currently disclosed
system is preferably an electronic or robotic type prosthetic. That
is the prosthetic is self-powered, and is not a body-type
prosthetic which requires the user to physically move the
prosthetic with their own body. The prosthetic device preferably
comprises one or more actuators. These actuators allow the
prosthetic device to carry out the movements which are detected
from the non-disabled appendage, or pre-programmed or stored
movement patterns of the prosthetic.
The actuators can comprise, for example one or more electrically
controlled motors.
For the actuation of specific movements of the prosthetic device,
the system incorporates software programs which can be coded using
4GL or 5GL code language. The programming of the system includes
specific movement commands and motion pattern commands that can be
actuated within the prosthetic device, depending either on the
perceived movements of the non-disabled appendage, or prior
pre-programmed and stored commands.
In one embodiment, the prosthetic device 120 is configured to mimic
the motion detected from the non-disabled physical appendage in
real-time, as the motion is occurring. In another embodiment, the
prosthetic device control system can be configured to store
three-dimension positional data and movement pattern commands in a
memory component. The movement patterns can either be independently
programmed patterns, or they can be movement patterns which were
previously conducted by the non-disabled appendage and stored
within memory of the system for actuating the same movement in the
prosthetic device 120 at a later time.
For example, it can be envisioned that a movement pattern is first
conducted in the real-time operation, wherein the prosthetic device
120 is mimicking the operations of the non-disabled appendage, such
as a walking motion, from point A to point B. Once this movement
has been conducted in real time, having a specific pace, direction,
duration, and other such variables which are programmable, it can
also be stored in the systems memory component as a movement
pattern which can be repeated at a later time, without the
necessity of the real-time monitoring of the movements of the
non-disabled appendage. Therefore a user can have the option of
conducting a specific movement pattern through already programmed
movement patterns, without the necessity of using the motion
sensors and cameras in real-time.
This can be extremely useful with simple repetitive tasks like
walking from one room to another, or opening a door, or pushing
wheels on a wheelchair, or other such repeatable actions which can
be useful to a disabled person fitted with the prosthetic system of
the present invention.
In one embodiment, the non-disabled physical appendage and the
prosthetic device correspond to the same body part. For example,
the appendage and the prosthetic device are arms. Alternatively, in
another embodiment the non-disabled appendage and the prosthetic
device do not correspond to same body part.
In accordance with further embodiment of the present invention, the
disclosed system further comprises authentication components.
In a further embodiment, the system of the present invention
further comprises an authentication component, which is comprised
of authentication data associated with the user of the prosthetic
device. The authentication component is connected to the
microcontroller comprising an input/output unit, a processor and a
memory for storing the authentication data associated with the user
of the prosthetic device. The authentication component can be used
to filter out perceived movements from the motion sensors and
cameras, which are nearby in the range of detection, but do not
correspond to the movements of the non-disabled appendage. This
noise data picked up from the sensors or cameras can be properly
authenticated and filtered out by the presently disclosed system,
so as to optimize the operations of the prosthetic device and
inhibit any undesired movements.
In one embodiment, the authentication component input/output unit
collects data associated with characteristics of the non-disabled
physical appendage and stores the characteristics in the memory,
and determines whether the dimensional motion detected by the
motion detector originates from the non-disabled physical appendage
before and as a condition of processing the motion information by
the microcontroller.
In one embodiment, the authentication component can comprise
biometric authentication means. The biometric authentication means
can be a collection of data associated with characteristics of the
non-disabled appendage. Such as for example, hand shape, hand
length, finger width and length, arm width and length, and a
variety of combination of measurable biometric parameters.
The use of these authenticating biometric data or parameters would
allow for the operations of the prosthetic device to be ceased,
until the authentication process is conducted. The parameters can
be stored in memory of the system, and used as identifying
credentials for the operation of the prosthesis.
Also disclosed by the present invention is a method for controlling
movements in a prosthetic device, to be used in accordance with the
above described system. The method comprises the following steps:
detecting a movement conducted by a non-disabled physical
appendage; transmitting said detected movement to a
microcontroller; processing motion information based on the
transmitted detected movement; and actuating motion of the
prosthetic device based on the processed motion information.
Similarly, to the previously described system, the currently
disclosed method motion allows for the prosthetic device to mimic
an identical motion performed by the non-disabled physical
appendage.
In one embodiment, the step of detecting a movement is conducted by
a movement detector. In a preferred embodiment, the movement
detector comprises one or more sensors, and preferably one or more
depth sensors and optical sensors, wherein the optical sensors
comprise one or more cameras.
The step of processing motion information comprises converting the
motion information to movement command readable by one or more
actuators.
The method further comprises steps wherein the prosthetic device
mimics the motion detected from the physical appendage in
real-time.
In another embodiment, the method further comprises storing motion
patterns conducted by the non-disabled appendage, for use in
actuating movement in the prosthetic device at any time by the
user. This process was previously described above.
The method further comprises a step of using a user interface which
is adapted to programming movement patterns and for reading said
movement patterns. Therefore in one embodiment, the processing
motion information comprises utilizing programmable movement
patterns.
In accordance with a further embodiment, the method of controlling
a prosthetic device further comprises an authentication step, which
uses authenticating data associated with the user of the prosthetic
device. The authentication step comprises use of biometric
authentication means. This step can use biometric data collected
and stored in the device, wherein the data is associated with
characteristics of the non-disabled physical appendage. Examples of
these characteristics were described above.
The method further includes authenticating the user by determining
whether the detected movement originates from the user of the
prosthetic device and actuating the motion of the prosthetic device
only if it is the case.
In one embodiment the method further includes a step of
authenticating the biometric data, prior to commencing motion
commands of the prosthetic device.
As can be seen in FIG. 3, the present method further comprises
steps for detecting obstacles and carrying out obstacle avoidance
commands. For example, this process starts with a movement that is
to be performed by the prosthetic device, based on the detected
movement from the non-disabled appendage, and or pre-programmed
movement patterns which are stored in the memory system of the
prosthetic device. If an obstacle is detected, then the movement to
be conducted by the prosthetic device is terminated and the user is
alerted or another path is configured by the system. Alternatively,
if an obstacle is not detected the movement by the prosthetic
device carries on, as detected or as programmed.
For example, it can be envisioned that if a user who is equipped
with a prosthetic device desires to go from location A to location
B in his or her home repeatedly (provided that the location A is
the identical location from which the user moved from last time)
then the user can reactivate this movement path through a certain
gesture for the same motion path already stored in the memory. If
during this movement path, the user comes across an obstacle such
as a person standing in the path or some other object placed in
between, the depth sensor 200 which is already equipped with and
communicates with a gyroscope, accelerometer and compass, capable
of processing the complex motion fusion algorithms integrated with
the one or more cameras, can terminate the movement of the
actuators within the prosthetic device as soon as the obstacle is
detected and alert the user to take another path configured by the
system automatically or manually.
While selected embodiments have been selected to be illustrated of
the present invention, and specific examples have been described
herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various
changes and modifications may be aimed to cover in the appended
claims. It will, therefore, be understood by those skilled in the
art that the particular embodiments of the invention presented here
are by way of illustration only, and are not meant to be in any way
restrictive; therefore, numerous changes and modifications may be
made, and the full use of equivalents resorted to, without
departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as outlined in
the appended claims.
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